THE GUILTY PLEASURE OF WATCHING A SOAP OPERA

            Some people feel that admitting to watching or having watched a soap opera in one’s life is a kin to admitting that he or she lolls around eating bon bons or reading the National Enquire.  Why this is so is beyond me. On the contrary, I find that people who put down ‘the soaps’ without ever having watched one are often insecure intellectually. (They don’t seem to have a problem admitting that they watch the show, House, which is in essence a soap for those who are embarrassed to admit they watch soaps).  Truthfully, if Dickens were alive today he’d be writing for the soaps. Same with Jane Austin. Celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor and Sammy Davis Jr. were closet, and not so closet, fans of the genre.

            Let’s go back to the original purpose of the daytime serial. It was to sell soap. Hence the term, soap opera. It had its origin in radio in the forties and by the fifties many of the shows transitioned to television. Some, such as Stella Dallas and Our Gal Friday did not. The largest sponsor of daytime serials back then was Proctor and Gamble.  Many of these shows aired in fifteen minute formats, shows such as Brighter Day and Secret Storm.  By the sixties, most had expanded to a half-hour format which eventually made its way, in some cases, to a one-hour format.

            The basic formula for most of these shows was the same. Generally the story revolved around two families: the family that was blessed with wealth but that lacked love and the family that was blessed with love but that lacked wealth. From there, all the usual trials and tribulations grew. People loved to hate the villains and empathize with the victims.  They came to feel as though they knew the characters, whether it was Erica Kane or Lucky Spencer. Were the stories convoluted?  Of course they were. Characters died and their long lost twins would appear months later. It didn’t matter. Viewers were asked to suspend their beliefs and give in to their imaginations. They were frequently rewarded with stories filled with pathos that, in many cases, reflected their own lives. This was especially true beginning in the eighties when storylines dealt with domestic abuse, alcoholism, teenage pregnancies, etc.

            I began watching soaps with my mother when I was very young. My favorite of them all was The Edge of Night.  Winner of the Edgar Awards for best mystery writing, EON would craft a story in a matter of weeks that would climax in a murder. It would take several weeks until the mystery unraveled and the murder was solved. The show was brilliantly written.

            Years later, I found myself working for P & G, writing for As the World Turns. When I challenged the continuity of a particular storyline, the producers were impressed with my knowledge of the bible (the original story on which all is based). Little did they know that my knowledge came from watching the show as a child.  When my husband, Rick, began writing music for the show Santa Barbara, we became fully entrenched in the world of soaps and made many wonderful, life-long friends. The theme that Rick co-wrote for Guiding Light aired for many years, ending months before he passed away. I never told him and the show itself was canceled shortly thereafter.  I, myself, had the opportunity to write for General Hospital in the eighties. Incidentally, I’ve watched this show for the past few years and find it to be very well written, acted, and directed. Kudos to Executive Producer, Jill Farren Phelps.

            Whether or not you got ‘hooked’ on a soap by watching along with your mother, your grandmother, or a girlfriend, whether you began watching while at college -- don’t be so ashamed to admit that, for at least a time in your life, you watched a soap.  Trust me; there are worse things to which one can be confessing.

            It’s common knowledge that many well known actors have appeared on soaps over the years.  See if you can guess which actor appeared on which show. As usual, you can scroll down for the answers when you’re finished. Good luck.

1.    Kathy Bates                                  a.   Love is a Many Splendid Thing

2.    Ryan Phillipe                                b.   Somerset

3.    Brad Pitt                                      c.   Capital

4.    Warren Beatty                             d.   Bold and the Beautiful

5.    Leonard Nemoy                          e.   General Hospital

6.    Kevin Bacon                                 f.    The Edge of Night

7.    Bette Midler                                  g.   As the World Turns

8.    Joan Crawford                              h.   Young and the Restless

9.    Macdonald Carey                          i.    Santa Barbara

10.  Robin Wright                                 j.    Passions

11.  Alec Baldwin                                 k.   The Doctors

12.  Hal Holbrook                                l.    Another World

13.  Tom Selleck                                  m.  Guiding Light

14.  Dustin Hoffman                            n.   Brighter Day

15.  Meg Ryan                                     o.   Secret Storm

16.  Donna Mills                                   p.   Search for Tomorrow

17.  Teri Hatcher                                  q.   One Life to Live

18. Georgia Engel                                 r.   Days of our Lives

19  Sigourney Weaver                          s.   Love of Life

20. Jack Wagner                                  t.   All My Children

21. Yasmine Bleeth                               u.  Ryan’s Hope













l.t; 2.q; 3.l; 4.s; 5.e; 6.m; 7.f; 8.o; 9.r; 10.i; 11.k; 12.n; 13.h; 14.p; 15.g; 16.a;

17.c; 18.j; 19.b; 20.d; 21.u  

Thanks for joining me again on RHODES LESS TRAVELED,

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Holidays,

Vivian